


Hopeless

by NeurotropicAgentX



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Bad Ideas, Dubious Consent, Identity Porn, Incest, M/M, Self-Loathing, Sparring, Tread Carefully, Trunks’s Issues, self-destructive behaviour
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-17
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-06-11 21:52:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15325146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeurotropicAgentX/pseuds/NeurotropicAgentX
Summary: Right before the Cell Games, Trunks goes back in time, one last time, to try and salvage his relationship with Vegeta. There might not be another chance. Instead it goes wrong in the worst possible way and Trunks… Trunks kind of lets it happen.





	Hopeless

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to my editor for all her assistance. Please heed the tags – this is not a happy fic.

Trunks sat alone in a clearing in the middle of the wilderness. In his own time the wilderness had been a refuge. The androids had mostly stuck to population centres where they could… Trunks squeezed his eyes shut and tried to meditate. How had this timeline ended up so bad? The androids had been far more powerful than the ones back in his time. And now Cell. Cell who was more powerful than anything Trunks could have imagined. 

Even powering up as far as he’d been able to, he still hadn’t been able to even land a hit on Cell. Nothing could stop that android, maybe not even Goku. Trunks’s fists had clenched against his knees without him realising it and he forced them to relax. Despair stretched out before him like a dark sea. He’d powered down in front of Cell when he’d realised that nothing he could do would make a difference. He’d known what that meant and known exactly what had been coming. And then Cell hadn’t even deigned to kill him. As if there wasn’t any _point_. 

Trunks’s fists were clenched again. He’d recklessly pursued power in the hyperbolic time chamber without a thought to the consequences. The super saiyan form always brought out the worst in him. It was volatile, difficult to control, and urged him to seek power, seek _violence_. He wished he knew how Goku controlled it so well. It was clear Vegeta had the same issues Trunks did with the form. 

Vegeta had let Cell ascend to his monstrous ‘perfect’ state. It was the stupidest, most prideful thing Trunks had ever seen, but Vegeta had done it as a super saiyan. In the darkest parts of himself, Trunks could almost understand the compulsion. There had been so many pivotal moments in this timeline where things had fallen apart. Cell had followed him to the past. Vegeta kept refusing to work with anyone. Goku had nearly died despite the medicine Trunks had brought. Vegeta had let Cell ascend. Trunks hadn’t trained in the right way in the hyperbolic time chamber and Vegeta hadn’t guided him at all and… 

And Vegeta kept ending up at the centre of things, like some kind of focal point. Trunks was sure that if he could only find the right things to say, at the right times, then maybe he could shift the outcomes in the right direction. If he and Vegeta could work _together_ to bring Cell down, if Vegeta could be persuaded that the androids were a real threat that needed to be eliminated and not… not _played with_ , then maybe things could work out okay. Maybe everything wouldn’t be doomed. 

A clear idea shone through Trunks’s morose thoughts. He had the means to give it another try. His heart beat hard against his ribs as he drew out the little box containing the capsuled time-machine. It wasn’t as if he was abandoning this timeline. He just needed to find the right words, to somehow get through to his father. In the same way he was fighting in this timeline to get stronger for his own timeline, it was about _improving_.

The time-machine sprang up as Trunks released it. He stared at it for a few moments before slowly walking toward the entrance. His hand rested on the word ‘hope’ briefly as he made his way inside. One last time. He knew a lot more about Vegeta than when he’d first met him. He could fix this.

///

Trunks arrived back in the past at a point just after he’d delivered his warning about the androids. Everyone was training hard to prepare, so locating Vegeta was easy. There were only a couple of power levels high enough to be him and most of the contenders were all clustered together. It would have been nice to think that Vegeta was training alongside Goku, or literally anyone, but Trunks was almost sure that Goku was training with Piccolo and Gohan. That left one lonely saiyan-powerful energy level deep in the wilderness.

Trunks stowed the time-machine, got his bearings, and flew off in the direction of Vegeta’s energy level. He made sure his own ki was high enough to sense, but not so high as to appear threatening. He wanted to avoid reminding Vegeta about the distance between their power levels and especially about Trunks’s ability to go super saiyan. 

Trunks slowed down as he reached Vegeta’s location. It was an unremarkable patch of wilderness, bare and rocky and utterly devoid of any signs of civilisation. Maybe Vegeta also found it soothing to leave the cities behind. Trunks must have gotten it from _somewhere_.

Vegeta wasn’t training when Trunks arrived. He was hovering in mid air with his arms folded. There was a scowl on his face and the tension in his body suggested he was combat-ready. 

Trunks had a clearer sense of how to approach this, could see the mistakes he’d made in the past, and had some concrete ideas about what to do this time. 

Vegeta spoke first. ‘What do _you_ want?’ His lip curled with distaste.

Trunks refused to let it get him. ‘I want to train with you.’ He didn’t add anything about preparing for the coming android crisis or anything else, stamping down hard on the impulse to explain himself. It was important to act like he had the right to be here, like there was nothing _to_ explain.

Vegeta crossed his arms. ‘And why would you want that?’

Trunks let out a silent exhale. At least Vegeta wasn’t saying that _he_ didn’t want to. ‘Because you’re powerful, so it would be worth my time,’ said Trunks. The arrogance didn’t come naturally, but he had to establish himself as an _equal_ if he was going to get anywhere with Vegeta. 

Vegeta visibly hesitated, but his expression hardened a moment later. ‘So why not go train with Kakarot? I’m sure he’d welcome an extra _stray_.’ He made ‘stray’ sound like a mortal insult. 

‘I don’t want to train with Goku. I want to train with you,’ Trunks said evenly, not referencing power levels or anything else that would spark Vegeta’s temper. Revealing himself as Vegeta’s son wouldn’t help either. He’d learned that one the hard way.

‘Humph. You want to train with me because of my power level?’

‘Yes.’

Another hesitation from Vegeta. Trunks could almost see the gears turning in his head. ‘And you’re from the future.’

‘Yes.’

‘So you know how I – how everything turns out. How strong I get,’ Vegeta said casually. Trunks was pretty sure Vegeta thought he was being subtle, but it was painfully obvious how obsessed he was with his own power level.

Doubt rose in Trunks’s mind. Was this really going to be better than any previous time? He shoved the thought away. It had to be better. Vegeta wasn’t a super saiyan yet, didn’t have to contend with that overwhelming power messing with his head. And with the looming threat of the androids, it only made sense that Vegeta was getting edgy about not being strong enough to face them. ‘I know lots of things about the future,’ Trunks finally admitted. That seemed like a pretty non-committal statement.

Vegeta grunted. ‘Fine.’ He uncrossed his arms and launched himself at Trunks without warning. Trunks had a split second to decide that this counted as progress before he had to block Vegeta’s first strike. 

It wasn’t like sparring with Gohan back in his own timeline. It was clear that Vegeta wasn’t trying to teach him anything. And maybe that was a good thing. You taught a student, you sparred with an equal. 

Trunks dodged around Vegeta’s punches, but couldn’t avoid getting clipped. He fell back on blocking and watched the way Vegeta was moving to try and get a sense of his pattern of attack. It wasn’t easy. Vegeta had a lot more experience and his attacks were vicious. This was vastly different from the hyperbolic time chamber. Trunks still felt a simmering resentment from being ignored for three years while Vegeta used the chamber’s unique physics to nearly destroy himself. They hadn’t sparred once back then.

Trunks struck out, taking advantage of a gap in Vegeta’s defence. The blow landed solidly, but Vegeta just barked a derisive laugh. ‘Is that the best you’ve got?’ he mocked. 

Vegeta’s next kick was close to his full power and he’d aimed it at Trunks’s kidneys. Trunks barely managed to dodge. Even moving with the force of a strike like that risked damage. Trunks was beginning to realise how much he relied on his super saiyan form during combat. Not accessing his full power put him close enough to Vegeta’s level that sparring was a struggle. Especially with the way Vegeta was pushing. 

Things got worse. Vegeta’s expression was locked into a snarl, but there was calculation in the way he fought. As he got a sense of Trunks’s defence patterns he shifted away from general strikes and started aiming for Trunks’s head or other vital, less protected spots. An open-handed strike nearly caught Trunks in the throat. That was a killing attack. For a moment he couldn’t believe that Vegeta would do this in the middle of what was meant to be a sparring match. The expression on Vegeta’s face made it clear it was deliberate. 

‘Stop trying to turn this into a real fight!’ Trunks yelled. Anger pounded in his head and his combat instincts were starting to tug at him. He was close to going super saiyan and that was the last thing he needed. The goal was to _de_ escalate. 

Vegeta bared his teeth in something like a grin. ‘Then stop me!’ he shouted back. His ki flared up and he unleashed a huge burst of energy straight at Trunks’s head. It was too real, too much like the danger Trunks had been fighting against his whole life. He roared as the super saiyan transformation swept over him and his vision abruptly filled with crisp golden light. He deflected the ki blast instinctively and it slammed into the ground, sending up a massive plume of earth. Trunks glared at Vegeta. He was going to end this. 

Vegeta was staring back at him. The rage hadn’t left his eyes, but his entire expression had shifted toward a deep hunger. With a sinking feeling, Trunks realised that he’d let Vegeta bait him. This was what he’d wanted, to see Trunks’s super saiyan form again. That unsettling hunger came from Vegeta’s envy, his overwhelming desire to achieve the form himself. At any cost. Maybe it wasn’t achieving the super saiyan form that had warped Vegeta after all.

‘How is it possible?’ Vegeta said hoarsely. ‘How is there another super saiyan that isn’t _me_?’ He flew forward until he was right in Trunks’s space, heedless of the sheeting golden power a hairsbreadth from his skin. Trunks stared back impassively. 

Then Vegeta snarled right in Trunks’s face before smashing their lips together. Trunks was too stunned to do anything at first. A chant of _no, no, no, no,_ was running through his head loud enough to drown out anything else. Too late he realised that the hunger in Vegeta’s expression was about more than just envy. 

The worst thing was that for the few moments of Trunks’s frozen inaction it felt _good_. Going super saiyan felt like wrestling with the worst parts of himself. He was craving the violence of a good fight and having a powerful, dangerous saiyan warrior pressed against him was satisfying a desire he hadn’t even known he’d had.

Trunks tore his mouth away from Vegeta’s and snarled right back. ‘What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!’

Vegeta grinned at him, fierce and smug all at once. ‘It’s pretty obvious why you’re here. I can’t say I blame you, considering the sort of warrior I know I’m going to end up as. I become the most powerful being in the galaxy, don’t I? And you’re here to see me before that point in time. It must be quite an ego boost for you, meeting me before my power level overwhelms yours and leaves you in the dust, _super saiyan_.’

‘My name is Trunks!’ he shouted back. Rage pounded in time with his heartbeat. He couldn’t believe Vegeta’s delusional arrogance, his inability to see anything past his bloated ego. In Vegeta’s world this was the only reason that Trunks would chose to train with him and not Goku. He couldn’t even conceive of just enjoying someone’s company or having other important ties that had nothing to do with power levels. 

The full force of Trunks’s super saiyan form obliterated anything but the need to throw himself against the source of his anger. He darted forward and struck Vegeta without holding back. There was the satisfying feeling of his fists thudding into an enemy who was too slow to even block. Vegeta crashed to the ground and his body impacted hard enough to fling up a cloud of dust. 

Trunks shook as the rage drained away and left him feeling empty. He flew down, shedding his super saiyan power as he landed beside Vegeta’s prone form. His eyes were closed, but he was still radiating energy. Trunks took a wary step forward. Vegeta’s eyes sprang open and he seized Trunks’s ankle, pulling him down.

Trunks stumbled, unbalanced, and twisted to try and retain the advantage. Vegeta had nowhere near Trunks’s raw power, but he had years of experience and managed to pull Trunks down. They grappled and rolled. Trunks was too stunned by the fact that Vegeta was _still fighting_ to transform. Besides, he didn’t want to see that naked hunger again, didn’t want to, to _encourage_ whatever sick little fantasy was playing out in Vegeta’s head. 

Trunks’s back slammed into the ground hard enough that the breath was knocked out of his lungs. Vegeta was on him in an instant, snarling in his face, and he grabbed at Trunks’s wrists, trying to pin him to the dusty ground. Trunks was still recovering from the sudden attack and… and he couldn’t remember ever being the focus of Vegeta’s attention like this. He’d been rejected, ignored and practically hated by this man. Trunks now understood some of it, knew where Vegeta’s sore points were. Even mentioning Goku’s name back at the beginning of the other timeline had been a mistake. He also knew that just _being_ a super-saiyan, when Vegeta wasn’t, had been enough to earn his hate.

Vegeta was on top of him and pressing Trunks’s arms down beside his head. His eyes glittered with fury and hunger to the point where he looked feverish. Blood oozed from his split lip and Trunks couldn’t stop staring at the bright splash of colour. Every point of contact between them felt like it burned, especially where Vegeta was straddling him. Saiyans ran hot. A shudder worked its way through Trunks’s body as Vegeta ground down firmly against his lap. Vegeta’s intent was obvious and his enjoyment was unmistakable with how tight his training gear was. 

Heat coiled tightly in Trunks’s guts and beat in time with his pulse. He needed to stop this. He couldn’t want this. It… it wasn’t _fair_. None of this was fair! Trunks shouldn’t have had to tread lightly around Vegeta’s fragile ego in order to get some kind of acknowledgment from his own father. And even now, even now when Trunks had done everything right, had actually tried to work around Vegeta’s pride, it still went wrong. Vegeta was a narcissist. He was delusional! Cell had transformed into an unstoppable monster that was currently ravaging an entire timeline _because of Vegeta_. And now Vegeta was rocking against him, once more pursuing what _he_ wanted without seeing anyone or anything else.

Trunks grit his teeth against the flare of pleasure that ran through him at the pressure and friction. With a roar he pushed Vegeta off him and reversed their positions so Vegeta was the one lying flat on his back with his wrists pinned. Now all Trunks had to do was stand up and walk away. Walk away from the hurt and the horror of this. 

Any moment now. 

They were staring at each other. Vegeta was grinning. The anger was still there in his eyes, but it was almost buried beneath lust and envy. The stillness between them strained for one heartbeat, two. 

Trunks squeezed his eyes shut and ground down against Vegeta. A part of him was screaming that this was a terrible idea, the worst thing he could do, but that didn’t matter right now. He was doomed. The timeline was doomed. Every timeline was doomed and maybe, maybe this was something that he _could_ have because it felt good and terrible all at once. Trunks had accepted the inevitability of pain a long time ago. 

Vegeta gasped beneath him and Trunks forced his eyes back open. He couldn’t afford to drop his guard, not now, especially not now. Vegeta twisted and it was unclear whether he was trying to get free or press himself harder against Trunks’s body. They rutted against each other on the bare earth and the friction was miserably good. Vegeta kept staring at him, his gaze flicking to his hair, his eyes. 

‘Do it,’ Vegeta hissed. 

Trunks’s gaze skidded away and he pretended he didn’t know what Vegeta wanted. Wasn’t this bad enough? 

Vegeta gave a frustrated growl and nearly managed to break Trunks’s hold as he surged up. ‘Come on, super saiyan, let me see it! Transform!’

Trunks bared his teeth and Vegeta laughed. The sound was wild and almost unhinged. When no amount of thrashing got Vegeta any closer to breaking the pin he stilled. Cold calculation flashed in his eyes. ‘Transform, Trunks.’

Trunks’s heart was racing and it had nothing to do with the physical exertion of keeping Vegeta on the ground. Even that much acknowledgement was more than he’d ever gotten from Vegeta. Vegeta was looking at him, _at him_ for the first time and…

Trunks unleashed his power with a scream. Golden light streamed around both of them. Vegeta arched, and the sound he made was loud enough to register even past the roaring in Trunks’s ears. His eyes were wide open, like he could capture the super saiyan form just from staring at it. ‘Magnificent,’ he breathed. 

Trunks’s hips snapped forward of their own accord. He was right on the edge and he wasn’t sure which of them he hated more in that moment. The approval, the awe, in Vegeta’s voice shouldn’t have this effect on him. Not when Trunks finally understood the depth of pettiness and spite in him. But Trunks didn’t hold back, practically couldn’t when the overwhelming force of super saiyan ki was flowing through him. Pleasure coursed through his nerves like living fire, mingling with the heat of his rage. His jaw clenched and his eyes were shut tight against the reality of what he was doing. He let go, shuddering as his orgasm tore through him. Even without seeing it, Trunks knew something similar was happening beneath him. He did his best to block out the sound Vegeta made and the way his body went rigid and then still.

Trunks didn’t even give himself time to catch his breath. He sprang back and let the glow of his super saiyan form fade. If only he could undo the rest of this so easily. His stomach churned and he turned away from Vegeta to focus on the wilderness scenery. It helped. 

He sensed Vegeta getting up, but he wasn’t ready to deal with it yet. Naturally Vegeta just grabbed Trunks’s arm. He probably couldn’t stand having someone ignore _him_. ‘You. You’re from the future. Tell me I get there. Tell me that I become a super saiyan too,’ he demanded.

Trunks turned around. He looked down at the hand clamped around his arm before sliding his gaze up to Vegeta’s face. Even in the middle of sex, Vegeta hadn’t looked as desperate as he did now. Trunks wrenched his arm away and his lip curled in disgust.

‘Tell me!’ Vegeta screamed, clenching his fists at his sides.

Trunks looked at him coldly. ‘You never make it. You never become a super saiyan. You don’t have what it takes.’ His voice was flat and dismissive to his own ears. Cruel. He sounded just like… 

Vegeta was staring at him, speechless, for once. And just maybe he was feeling a fraction of the pain Trunks was feeling right now. ‘Goodbye, father,’ Trunks added. He transformed again and fled. This timeline was dead to him. It was a mistake. Everything about this was a mistake. As soon as he reached a nice deserted patch of wilderness he was going to reconstitute his time-machine and never, ever look back.

Trunks’s super saiyan senses were good enough that he still heard Vegeta’s howl of rage and pain, in the distance. It wasn’t satisfying. Mostly it just made him feel hollow. Trunks gritted his teeth and flew faster.


End file.
